ISLAMABAD: The Afghan ambassador on Tuesday admitted that his country should not allow ‘space’ to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while urging Islamabad to do the same against terrorist groups such as the Haqqani Network.

“Both countries should ensure that no space is given to state and non-state actors to be used against each other,” Dr Omar Zakhilwal said while addressing the second round of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Dialogue on Bilateral Reconciliation: Opportunities and Challenges jointly organised by the Regional Peace Institute and Royal Danish Defence College in Islamabad.

“Afghanistan must ensure that its space is not used by the TTP against Pakistan, and Pakistan must ensure that its soil is not used by the Haqqanis and others against Afghanistan,” the ambassador added.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of turning a blind eye towards certain militant outfits.

While Afghanistan wants Pakistan to do more against alleged presence of the Haqqanis, Islamabad has its own list of demands, seeking decisive action against the TTP and its affiliates believed to be operating out of Afghanistan.

This is the first time that any senior Afghan figure publicly acknowledged that TTP has sanctuaries on Afghan soil and those were needed to be eliminated.

Zakhilwal conceded that Pakistan and Afghanistan ‘have fractured relations that need to be repaired’. “[The] issues are between two states and not between people of the two countries.”